Bio Museum to open its doors in September

Seven years have passed since that formally began the construction of the Museum of Biodiversity, designed by the Canadian architect Frank Gehry.

Now, with 84 months of work, and 71 million dollars invested, the museum will open its doors in September 2013.

The construction of the building shows a progress of 95%, said Alejandro Ferrer, president of the Amador Foundation, the organization in charge of the museum.

With this level of advancement, Ferrer estimates that in September there will be “a limited opening” of the museum, since there are still elements to work on.

The exhibitions will show the impact that the rise of the isthmus had in the composition of the seas, and marine and terrestrial wildlife in the region.

These galleries are part of phase A, while the second group, which includes the construction of two aquariums and a botanical garden, will open to the public in 2014.

Amador Foundation calculations indicate that for the project, when completed, there will be an investment of about 94 million $.

Of this total, 54.4 million $ was used to construct the building, whose peculiar roof is composed of six different materials, all assembled in the country.

Another 11.8 million $ will be invested in the exhibitions, while 5.5 million $ were allocated to management and educational programs.

Once the museum opens its doors it will become one of the main attractions of Panama. International journals have noted that this will be one of the most frequented places by tourists coming to Panama, taking into account that it is the first museum in Latin America designed by Gehry.

In the first period of activity the Biomuseum is estimated to generate a volume of visitors close to 600,000 people per year.